Move Over Chef Boyardee

We finally ate our last meal from the Self Magazine article, Cook Once, Eat Healthy All Week. This was the one I was least excited about trying, Vegetable and Chickpea Ragout.

I had to look up "ragout" and find out what it even means. Turns out it means "a main dish stew" and it's pronounced "ra-goo" just like Ragu pasta sauce. So there, you learned something new. Unless you already knew that. I didn't.

This is a very healthy vegetarian meal (15 grams of fiber, 14 grams of protein, 380 calories), which I liked. I do eat meat, but not a lot. I'd love to say I eat none, but I'm not there yet.

We left the olives out, because I don't like olives. Also, our "fresh basil" was long ago not fresh anymore, so that didn't make it into our final plates. The only other change I made to the recipe is, it calls for "1/2 cup whole wheat penne pasta, cooked." This confused me greatly. Does it mean 1/2 DRY pasta, cooked? Or 1/2 cup of the already cooked? And either way, seriously?! 1/2 cup of pasta?? Who cooks a 1/2 cup of pasta?? And this is supposed to serve TWO?!

I cooked more like two cups of pasta. So, I'm sure the calorie count went up there, but it was whole wheat at least. I mean, I had a total of probably six cups of the veggie/chickpea mixture. Was I really supposed to stir in 1/2 cup of pasta??? Also, I should say, this ended up making us more like three or four servings, so I think we're good.

As for taste, it wasn't bad. It was just kind of bland. I actually added salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the final product, which helped a lot. R said he liked it, "except it has these weird crunchy dry beans in it?" I guess he's not a chickpea fan. But he ate two helpings, and he took the leftovers to work for lunch the next day.

Now that we've eaten all five of our meals, my final evaluation is that the one meal I would definitely cook again is the Sweet Potato Shepherd's pie. That one was majorly tasty, and we both agreed.

And I do like the idea of having basics on hand (and sometimes frozen) to make quick, healthy meals. We've used the leftover onion/garlic mixture three times in various dishes, and we used the leftover broccoli/red pepper mixture to make a quick and healthy stir-fry. So, I may look more into "cook ahead and freeze" type plans and try more recipes.

I'll keep you posted on anything good I find!

The Answer is WATER

What is the best dietary supplement for weight loss?

What diet -friendly drink should you consume to ensure you will add many steps to your day? (think potty breaks)

What is the most natural cleansing / body detoxifying item on the planet?

What substance (when there isn't enough) is one of the 4 most common causes of a headache?

What is one of the easiest ways to reduce your "eat out" bill?

What are you probably not drinking enough of?

What does your brain need a lot of in order to properly function?

What kind of weight do unhealthy diets help you shed?

What should you go grab a tall glass of right now?


Clearly, I'm on a water kick. Because I consider myself to be a pretty heavy drinker (of liquid - not alcohol). And while I've been paying attention...I have noticed that while I do drink a lot - not very much comes in a "pure" state. I have water flavors added in, I drink lots of iced tea, but I'm not doing so good at giving my body it's 8-8ounces of water per day...and I am CERTAINLY not getting a good portion of that without something mixed into it.

So this week - and on upcoming weeks. I challenge myself (and you) to count your fluid intake. Meet the minimum of 8-8 ounce servings and make sure at least half of those are"pure"...plain water (though fruit or fresh herbs mixed into them is still "pure" in my book).

In a week, we'll do a check in and see how it's going...how you met the challenge, if you met the challenge, and strategies to help others...

Let Them Eat Cake

I must credit Katherine with this post, because I searched for this video after her comment on my earlier post about cake.

I found the video quite amusing, and sadly, quite true, so I thought I'd share.

I'm going to another cake event this weekend, a wedding. I'm going to a wedding that's five hours away. It's a long way to travel for cake.

I hope it's good cake.

What Was I Thinking?

As I shared about a week ago - I was going to try some Special K Regina-ized two week long diet.

Then the holiday weekend happened.

And baseball season.

And work meetings.

And this is the problem with diets that don't really include "real / normal food".

It only took me about 3 minutes when reviewing the Special K diet online to realize that their suggestions were filled with HFCS, lots of sugar, not lots of fiber (even when they said it was a high fiber item), and little to no veggies / fruits. And even a little sprinkling of "insignificant" amounts of trans fats!

I guess if you were consuming fast food in super sized quantities every single day - this would be a good change. But even then, it wouldn't be long lasting and it is DEFINITELY NOT the road to a healthier YOU!

I thought this would be a good idea for me because in this season - I often don't want to eat at all. Or I want to eat something cold. (And while ice cream for dinner can happen on occasion - I would not suggest you try it for weeks on end.)

In the Regina-version of this Special K diet. I did eat a good amount of cereal. I do not own a single bowl that makes the box suggestion of a "serving" an easy thing to measure out (and by the way, it varies by flavor of Special K that you are eating)...but isn't this the problem with everyday food intake? The box says 5 crackers - and 10 crackers aren't enough to seem like a snack? Must learn portion control.

Also, you would think I would know better...several years ago I had a gum graft ( a midevil procedure where they take skin from the roof of your mouth and add it to the gum line - yeouch!) and since then the top of my mouth has been very sensitive. I don't like soggy cereal. So this means that meal after meal of crunchy flakes= my mouth feeling very assaulted.

I will continue to replace a meal here and there with cereal - it's not the easiest thing to pack for my desk. And sometimes a girl just needs real food - you know?

What I should have done instead - is branch out even further from the Special K diet. I should have done the Baked Oatmeal diet - high fiber, low sugar, fresh fruit. Serve it warm or cold! I am still considering this - as I simply do not get tired of this food item. And if I wanted cereal - who's to say that a higher fiber cereal wouldn't work just as well as a meal replacement?

Needless to say - with the decreased fiber, the holiday, the concession stand at baseball games...the numbers are not moving in the right direction. So 1 week in and I'm already sick of the plan!

How many times must we be doomed to re-learn the basics? Fruits and veggies first. Moderation everywhere. Smaller serving sizes. More calorie free drinks. And a healthy - moving lifestyle.

Can you say "duh"?

Is Food My Drug of Choice?

I've had a couple moments this week where I totally had an understanding of why people do drugs. Never fear, I'm not heading toward my nearest crack dealer. But a couple days this week I truly felt like I wanted to just pop some pill or drink some drink that would just make the bad feelings STOP.

And I got to thinking about food being something I use in those situations. Somehow what's been happening lately isn't anything that ice cream can cure. Trust me, I've tried. But I know I do it all the time.

Bad feeling? Ack! Must eat chocolate! Make it stop!

I spent a couple years in a haze of various anti-depressants, and I truly do not want to go back there. I truly do not believe that I need something all the time anyway. I've narrowed it down to my feeling bad generally in the week or so before my period (okay, sometimes two weeks) and feeling bad generally when I have to go to work.

Which sadly, happens about five times a week. For eight hours at a time.

But the rest of the time? I'm fine!

Anyway, my latest potential solution has been going to the drug store and stocking up on every supplement and herb that is supposedly helpful with mood, stress management, or PMS.

I'm taking a multi-vitamin, B6, Calcium and Magnesium, Fish Oil, Evening Primrose Oil, and St. John's wort. I'll keep you posted on how this goes. I've started slowly, just taking one of each per day. Some of these things say on the instructions to take two pills three times a day! Ugh.

Anybody have any good advice on which supplements have helped you stabilize your mood? Not counting chocolate, I mean.

New Strategy

In MO there are a few seasons...winter, fall, spring (lasts about 2 weeks) and then the humid season. Humidity causes many problems - higher AC bills, bad hair days, and auto's that are instant saunas.

The one good thing they bring....is a lack of hunger.

This is the season where I sometimes could care less about eating dinner. Or, I'll be craving something light. So as I was eating some cereal for dinner --I thought, hey, I'll try the Special K plan.

After a quick search online - I was pretty disgusted with their suggested plan. If diets were made to be all carbs - then it might be a great idea. It was (of course) full of Special K suggestions to eat - but I failed to see where it encouraged enough fruits and veggies. But searching the nutritional info it became quite clear that they do not know the meaning of "high fiber" AND that they have a love affair with some hidden trans fats and high fructose corn syrup.

So, now I'm trying my own version of the Special K diet. 2 bowls of cereal and one regular meal. Veggies and fruits are "free" in between or with meals. Limited drink calories.

I know it's not a long term plan - but it has some advantages. First, it allows me to eat less - since this is what I'm wanting to do anyway. Second, it is easier to track calories when 2 of your meals are mostly the same every day. Third, it's pretty easy because it's short term (they suggest 2 weeks) and once you select your variety of cereals there isn't much question of what you will be eating.

I'll let you know how it goes...

I Was Told There'd Be Cake

That happens to be the title of a very funny bookthat has nothing to do with losing weight. In case you're interested.

I had an epiphany yesterday about cake. (Yes, that's what I said, an epiphany about cake. I don't claim to be deep.)

I've been sick this week. Well, actually for two weeks. (I'm finally starting to get better, thanks for asking.) And I had to work yesterday, which kinda sucks. Then after work I was driving to a birthday party for a special seven-year-old and thinking of how exhausted I was, when I found myself thinking, "I hope there's good cake."

And then I got to thinking about all the events where we serve cake in our culture. Birthdays, weddings, graduations, anniversaries, retirements, basically any cause for celebration is cause to eat cake.

Here's the thing about me and celebrations. I'm very happy for whomever is celebrating. And generally I'm going to the celebration because I love the person being celebrated. But celebrations mean large groups of people. And as R likes to say, "Janet doesn't like people."

That sounds bad, I realize. And I guess the truth is, I love certain people. And I love those people one-on-one or in small groups. But you put any people in a large, loud, chaotic group? I'd really rather be at home.

So, I realized yesterday that I tend to say to myself about every time I'm faced with one of these situations, "Well, at least there will be cake." Cousin's wedding? Grandparents' 75th anniversary? "At least there will be cake."

This cake coping mechanism is a classic example of me using food to numb whatever feeling is making me uncomfortable. I'm grateful that I live in a culture which serves cake. Otherwise, I'd be forced to feel uncomfortable without assitance.

Do you suppose this is WHY we serve cake at these things? Because generally they involve seeing family we don't like? Or being around large groups of noisy children? Or co-workers we'd rather not spend our social time with? Do we serve cake to medicate people into being able to stand the pressure?

At any rate, I know that I personally look forward to the food at these things. And I'll admit, good food is a good way to motivate me to do something that makes me uncomfortable. Which is something for me to think about.